1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a ceramic electronic component.
2. Description of the Related Art
Concomitant with the recent increasing requirement for reduction in size of an electronic device, the reduction in size thereof by embedding a ceramic electronic component in a circuit board has been proposed (for example, see Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2010-129737).
In general, a ceramic electronic component embedded in a circuit board is electrically connected to a wire through a via hole electrode. A via hole for forming this via hole electrode is formed by irradiating an outer electrode of the ceramic electronic component in the circuit board with laser light. Hence, a board-embedded type ceramic electronic component is required to have an outer electrode excellent in laser resistance. Accordingly, there has been proposed a ceramic electronic component having outer electrodes, each of which includes a Cu layer containing Cu or a Cu alloy as the outermost layer.
However, Cu has been known as an element liable to cause ion migration as an Ag element. Hence, when the outermost layers of the outer electrodes are each formed of a Cu layer, ion migration of Cu is liable to occur. When the ion migration of Cu occurs, the outer electrodes may be electrically connected to each other, and as a result, a short circuit defect arises.